Gov. Kate Brown answered that question only in the broadest sense during her State of the State speech this week: “Oregon’s rising economic tide should be lifting all boats. Yet many hardworking families are still under water.”

Her answer is a plan she dubbed “Future Ready Oregon,” including:

• Focus the state’s economic development efforts on people of color and rural Oregonians.

• Address Oregon’s housing shortage for working families.

• Make it easier for construction workers to start their own business, especially if they will build low-income housing in rural areas.

• Make it easier for individuals to enter the health-care field, enabling them to train for several health-care sectors at once.

These goals are worthwhile. Rural Oregonians and people of color were left behind amid the economic boom experienced in Portland and other metro areas. Meanwhile, much of Oregon suffers from a shortage of housing for low- and middle-income residents. And certainly, Oregon’s education and training systems should better align with projected job opportunities. As Brown said, “The goal is to close the gap between the workforce that we have and the workforce that we need to fuel Oregon’s economy.”

She went on to say, “Over the course of the next year, through a series of executive actions, policy positions and legislation, Future Ready Oregon will build these pathways for adults to get the right skills for the right jobs of Oregon’s future.”

Brown spoke in expansive terms that left many people in the Oregon Capitol, including some of her fellow Democrats, wondering what she had in mind. And despite Brown’s calling her plan “a new way of thinking about the economy,” previous governors, education officials and business leaders have said similar things.

This was not a bold speech. But it was a pragmatic speech. Oregon — both rural and urban — will benefit if Brown can make these ideas stick.